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Recipe Favorites: Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes

(Updated March 2008) I confess I'm not a big pancake fan, and even though these are South Beach Diet friendly low carb pancakes, this is something I probably wouldn't ever make for breakfast just for myself. Still, I'm choosing this as a Recipe Favorite because these pancakes have been such a hit with visiting kids, making this a great breakfast option in any household where some people are dieters, and others just want pancakes.

I got this recipe from a parent at school, and when I first posted it I was eating the pancakes with sugar free maple syrup. This type of syrup usually has the sugar alcohol sorbitol, which can be hard to digest, and if you're using sugar free syrup I'd look for one with the lowest amount of sugar alcohol. Nowdays I'd use Agave Nectar on my pancakes, a natural low-glycemic sweetener that I've been raving about ever since I tried it. It contains fructose, so it's not sugar free, but it makes a great low-glycemic alternative to maple syrup or honey. Of course, if you're not avoiding sugar, go ahead and enjoy these pancakes with some real maple syrup. They'll still be a healthier alternative to pancakes made with white flour no matter what you top them with.

Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes

(Makes 12-15 small pancakes, recipe from Gia's Catering in West Bountiful, Utah. If you're looking for a good caterer in that area, leave a comment and I will get you in touch with Isaiah's mom!)

Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and blend well. Preheat griddle or heavy frying pan. Put pancake batter into a large glass measuring cup or other container with a pour spout.

When griddle or pan is hot, pour out pancakes one at a time on to hot griddle, spacing them well so they don't spread into each other. (I'd estimate I used slightly less than 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.) Let the pancakes brown well on first side before turning them. (These take considerably longer to cook than regular pancakes, about 5 minutes on the first side before you turn them.)

You won't see as many bubbles on top as with regular pancakes, so be prepared to experiment with one to see how long to cook them before turning. I cooked mine about 8-9 minutes total time. Serve pancakes hot with syrup or Agave Nectar. They would also be delicious served warm with fruit and Greek Yogurt, sour cream, or cottage cheese.

South Beach Suggestions:
This recipe would be a good choice for phase two or three of the South Beach Diet, if pancakes are served with Agave Nectar or sugar-free syrup. Low-fat turkey breakfast sausage would be a good South Beach friendly choice to serve with them.

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38 comments:

You could also use rolled oats (either left alone...I use the thicker oldfashioned kind) or spun in the blender to make them into more of a flour for these. I believe they're a bit lower in carbs/higher in fiber like this and tasty too.

Laura, Mona, and Vanessa, they were really good. And I am not even particularly a pancakes fan.

Chocolate Lady - the syrup has sugar alcohol and Splenda instead of sugar. I'm not that much of a sweets eater, so I don't mind using a product like this once in a while when I want something sweet tasting.

Loved these this morning. Better than the oatmeal variation in the SB book! My batch made 7 larger pancakes, so I might try to trim back the ingredients. I used large eggs, that's perhaps why the extra.

I have never had whole wheat pancakes that were so fluffy! The texture was just right. Unfortunately, I didn't like the flavor much, but my husband liked it. They're not at all sweet like pancakes usually are. I don't like syrup (like my husband used), just butter (smart balance, actually) on my pancakes. I will try adding splenda to the batter next time. I may also add some lemon to the cottage cheese to give them a faux buttermilk taste.

Kalyn, I think I made a version of these that are good for those of us who don't like syrup. I based it on the pancake recipe devised by America's Test Kitchen. First, I put the cottage cheese (light) in a food processor and processed until creamy. I then added juice from one small lemon. This gives it a faux-buttermilk flavor. Next, I put all the dry ingredients in another bowl and added 2T of splenda. I then added the rest of the wet ingredients to the cottage cheese puree and mixed by hand. I put the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mixed by hand until *just* mixed. The ATK people say that mixing too much overdevelops the gluten in the flour and makes it tougher. They were right... What I got was a *very* tender pancake that tasted very close to classic buttermilk pancakes. Mmmmmm.....

I don't know where I got the following recipe, could have been from this website, but I wanted to post the link here for another whole wheat pancake option: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001464.html. I used agave nectar to replace any other sweetners here... and these turned out GREAT. Be sure to use buttermilk, or make your own by adding lemon to the milk and letting it sit.

I have made these twice now...absolutely delicious. I am not a fan of sugar free maple syrup, so instead I use warmed up homemade, unsweetened apple sauce with some toasted walnuts on top. I also add some cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg to the pancake batter. A wonderful family favorite! Thank you for this recipe!

Comments before this one were from March 1, 2006 to March 1, 2008 when I updated the recipe. (I think it's fun seeing the historical evolution in the comments. I may be wrong, but I'm guessing a lot more people are into whole wheat pancakes now than they were in 2006.)

I've made these hundreds of times, but no oil, just substitute 1/2 cup milk instead. I first saw this recipe in the More with Less cookbook. Great with fruit toppings, kind of like cheesecake (if you use your imagination!) My husband always eats them rolled up with a little lemon juice and white sugar (could use splenda), VERY tasty that way as well. And they freeze great! We have these every Saturday, and my kids don't ever want ANY other kind of pancake.Note: must use a blender or food processor, regular mixers just don't work, the cottage cheese needs to be blended up.

I think I might try these with using ricotta instead of the cottage cheese. The boyfriend hates cottage cheese, so the thought of them going into the pancakes makes him want to gag. And I think I will add some splenda.

Although, I will test them on myself first. I will let you know how they turn out.

I substitute quinoa flour for the whole wheat, reduce the oil to 1/4 cup (or just pour in a few dribbles), add a shake of stevia, and stir in a handful of mini chocolate chips. My kids put maple syrup on these but I just eat them plain. Yum, and very easy.

Jamie, I don't know much about the difference between waffle and pancake batters. If I was guessing, I'd say this batter will work, but I don't think it will get as crisp on the outside as waffles usually do. Let us know if you try it!

Hi, just came across this recipe and I am on the Slimming World plan. Was thinking how to adapt it, maybe using polenta (corn meal) or oatbran and possibly adding a little extra bicarb to promote bubbles?

I love your blog, and was thrilled when I came across your previous entry for these pancakes. I am not a true South Beach dieter, but I love so much of the food. I had a hard time with how much fat went into the recipe....I know, I know...fat is good, so I went a little overboard on my adaptation, but I thought I would at least share what I did, and the end result.

I used-

egg beaters instead of eggsapplesauce (no sugar added) instead of oiladded some cinnamon to the batter

Well, it did not make pancakes, but crepes rather. They were very thin once the were done cooking. HOWEVER, I loved them! The first time I tried them with some natural peanut butter and sugar free jam all rolled up. The second time I had them, I mashed up some strawberries and blackberries and poured them on top while the rest of my family enjoyed strawberry shortcake. Like I said, they were just like yummy thin crepes.

I will be making these again this weekend, however, I will stop being a nervous wreck about the fat and make them the way they were intended!

Kalyn. I used oat flour in mine. And they turned out vary good but a little heavy. My question is why so much baking powder? Is it 1.tbs or 1.tsp or is there any substitutions that I could make to lower the baking powder in them?

It is 1 tablespoon of baking powder. I would assume the large amount is to make the pancakes rise with the heavy whole wheat flour and generous amount of cottage cheese. They were not heavy when I made them, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about baking powder to suggest other things you could use. You could read through the comments to see if there are any other suggestions.

(Apologies to Sarah S., I accidentally deleted this comment!) I also thought I would share a fruit syrup recipe that I came up with. You take whatever fruit that you are in the mood for. I like mixed berry's or strawberries. put them in a sauce pan add a little water and (stevia in the raw) bring to a boil and simmer till you have a fruit syrup. You can add vanilla to add to the taste.

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